


What You'll Sorely Miss

by katiemorag



Category: Harry Potter - J. K. Rowling
Genre: Triwizard Tournament
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2016-08-27
Updated: 2016-08-27
Packaged: 2018-08-11 08:19:36
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 3,270
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/7883680
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/katiemorag/pseuds/katiemorag
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>the age old trope that it wasn't Ron who was Harry's hostage tied up at the bottom of the Great Lake</p>
            </blockquote>





	What You'll Sorely Miss

It was the night before the second task of the Triwizard Tournament and Harry had never been more nervous.

‘We’ve taken what you’ll surely miss...Too late, it’s gone, it won’t come back’ 

He had just came back into the common room as Hermione rushed out saying that the Headmaster had asked to see her, a strike of dread went through him at that; the person he had just left said that exact same thing.

He tried not to dwell on it as he lay in bed and fell into a restless sleep.

He was awoken the next morning by Ron shaking him awake.

“Mate, you gotta get up. Breakfast finishes in half an hour then the task begins at 10.” 

Ron left Harry to change into his uniform he had been provided with for the task though he was waiting for him at the bottom of the stairs to escort him down to breakfast. Harry had never been so thankful that Ron had got over himself and realised that he hadn’t entered the tournament of his own accord. 

Ron and Neville tried to get him to eat something but the fact that he couldn’t spot a distinctive head of hair in the morning crowd made him feel sick.

When it was finally time for them to head down to the lake for the task, Harry tried to see through the scores of students but still failed to locate who he was looking for; Ron presumed he was looking for someone entirely different.

“I haven’t seen Hermione since last night, mate. She left to go see Dumbledore and didn’t come back, do you think it’s something to do with the task?” 

Ron’s question went unanswered as they arrived at the starting podium and Harry was pulled to the front with a final ‘you need to eat it’ from Neville that got him an odd look from the prefect who had been sent to escort Harry to the starting line.

Harry could barely hear Dumbledore speaking over the sound of the blood rushing in his ears, only when the other three champions had jumped in the lake did he quickly swallowed the Gillyweed and jump in. 

He adapted to the changes just in time to see Fleur disappear into the murky waters to his right, he decided it would be too obvious to try to follow her so set off in a straight line towards the centre and deepest part of the lake. 

Harry could not have been in the water more than five minutes when came across a forest of light green weeds for as far as the eye could see. He quickly swam to as close to the top of the weeds as he could while still being able to see the bottom.

He was aware that there was something (or many somethings) swimming around him, hidden in the weeds. One suddenly grabbed his foot and tried to pull him down, he looked down to see a Grindylow clinging to his leg then all of a sudden there was two then three then four. 

He was getting dragged further and further down into the weeds as the Grindylows continued to multiply.

“Relashio!” Harry shouted, no sound came out of his mouth but the bubble that erupted from his wand detached the Grindylows from him then sent them running.

Once out of the forest of weeds he paused to try and get an idea of where to go next but it seemed almost hopeless, the murky water made it difficult to see more than twenty feet in front of him.

“How are you getting on?” 

Harry almost went flying to the surface in surprise at the voice, he turned to find Moaning Myrtle reclining in the water lazily.

He tried to open his mouth to say something but only bubbles and an unintelligible sound came out making Myrtle giggle.

“Try over there, lover boy.” She said rolling her eyes and pointing to a spot that when Harry looked, looked no different to the rest of the dirty water.

He gave her the thumbs up and had begun to swim away when she called after him. 

“Promise you’ll both still come visit, you’re the only ones who ever do.” Myrtle said, Harry was suddenly aware of how lonely she must be; he gave her his most reassuring smile and another thumbs up, making her grin and begin to swim in what he presumed was the direction of the castle.

When he came across more of the weeds, he swam closer to the top of it until he cleared it then dipped back down into the lake.

He swam for what felt like forever until he heard snatches of the haunting song that came out of the egg.

 

‘An hour long you’ll have to look,  
And to recover what we took’

This spurred him on and soon he came across a painting on a large rock that depicted merpeople carrying spears chasing what looked to be the Giant Squid; he took only a moment to glance at it before continuing to follow the song.

‘...your time’s half gone, so tarry not  
Lest what you seek stays here to rot…’

Harry barely looked at the crudely formed stone dwellings that lined the way to what looked like a wide open courtyard from afar. He suddenly became aware that he was being watched from all angles, then suddenly all around him were what he presumed to merpeople.

They bore no resemblance to the beautiful people on the mural he had seen, instead they had grey skin and long, wild dark green hair that seemed to blend into the water behind them. 

Once in the wide open space, he noticed the choir of merpeople in the corner whose voices were calling the champions to them. At the bottom the lake lay a large stone statue of a person, to which there were four people attached.

Cho Chang was the closest to him obviously what Cedric would surely miss, then a small blond girl who could have been no older than eight, her silvery hair made him feel sure that she was Fleur’s sister.

Hermione was next, her hair was even more untamed underwater than it was on land, he noted idly. 

Hermione could have been his hostage if it was not for the last person in the line.

Harry quickly swam over to his hostage, placing his hands on the soft cheeks he had caressed so many times before to feel them hard and unweilding was a shock to his system but he recovered quickly. They would of course have to be put in a coma to allow them to be taken to the bottom of the lake.

He was almost sure that the hour was close to being up and there was no sign of the other champions. He reached out for Hermione only to be stopped by the sharp end of a mermaid’s trident.

“Only one!” Came the raspy voice.

“But she’s my friend too!” Harry tried to explain, but they looked over his shoulder and started to grin.

Harry turned to find Cedric swimming towards him, the bubble around his head making him look weirdly distorted. He quickly cut Cho free and looped an arm around her waist, he turned to Harry and raised an eyebrow (or at least Harry thought he did) at the hostage that Harry floated next to then tapped his watch before swimming off back in the direction he had come.

He was beginning to worry until he looked around again and saw a large dark shape swimming towards him, he almost fired a spell at it before he realised that the shark like thing was heading for the rope holding Hermione to the statue and that it was wearing Krum’s swimming trunks. He bit through the rope and then began to drag her by the arm in the same direction Cedric had went; Harry worried for a moment if he would hurt her before turning back to the two remaining hostages.

With their colour of hair, the two of them could have been siblings. Speaking of the girl’s sibling, she was still nowhere to be seen.

He took out his wand and pointed it at the rope holding the little girl down, he was not leaving her here. The merpeople immediately threatened him with their spears again but when he spun his wand to face them they scattered just as quickly.

Harry cast a cutting hex at the remaining ropes, grabbed their arms and pulled them as gently as he could in the direction that the other two had went. He tried to go higher but the water still seemed so dark around him and there were merpeople now circling below him.

Did merpeople eat people?

Harry realised he was beginning to find it hard to breathe when he suddenly caught a glimpse of light and he began to kick harder, the extra momentum given to him by the flippers he had developed allowed him to go faster than normal but he could still feel his lungs beginning to scream in protest and his muscles ache but he was so close…

And then there was suddenly air, and noise.

Harry opened his eyes, unaware he had even closed them to see everyone on the stands on their feet, shouting and clapping. He had the impression that since they were most likely outwith the time limit, everyone had thought they had drowned.

Harry had just pushed the small girl towards the stands when he was splashed from the back.

He whirled around to face the culprit, unable to stop the dopey smile that graced his face every time the other boy smiled at him.

“A tad wet this, is it not?” Draco said, unable to keep the smile from his own face; he spotted Fleur’s sister making her way to shore and frowned slightly, “what did you bring her for?” 

“Fleur didn’t turn up, I couldn’t leave her.” Harry said as he tried to regain his breath.

“Harry Potter, you utter prat.” Draco admonished rolling his eyes, “you took the song seriously, didn’t you? You honestly think Dumbledore, as mad as he is, would leave us to die down there?” 

“But it said…” Harry tried but was cut off by Draco splashing him again.

“Only to make sure you adhered to the time limit, you fool!” Draco sounded annoyed but Harry could barely bring himself to care because Draco was safe, “why are you smiling at me like that?” 

Draco frowned suspiciously, Harry was pretty sure that although most people in the stands could see him, Draco was mostly blocked from their view by him so he swam a little closer to him.

“Don’t kill me, darling but I really need to kiss you.” Harry whispered, just loud enough for Draco to hear over the water and the people in the stands shouting for them to come back, Draco was sure he heard ‘Harry and whoever else is there!’

Draco was about to question him when Harry’s cold and wet hand came to rest on his cheek and then a moment later his equally cold and wet lips met his.

At that moment, everything else ceased to exist; it always did to them when they were kissing each other. Draco wrapped an arm round Harry’s neck pulling him close by his hair while taking his lead to stay afloat with one hand to-and-froing in the water.

“I love you, boy wonder.” Draco breathed against Harry’s lips as they broke apart causing Harry to break out into a massive grin.

“I love you too, dragon.” Harry pressed one last kiss to Draco’s lips before turning and beginning to drag him to shore; the stands sounded as if a silencing charm had just been cast when Harry moved and they could see who he had rescued.

Once they reached the stand, they were immediately accosted by Madame Pomfrey who wrapped them both up in warm blankets and admonished them fondly for staying in the water longer than they needed to.

Ludo Bagman tried to grab him and drag him to where the other champions and their hostages were waiting but he completely ignored Draco standing right next to him, Harry allowed himself to be pulled along but at the last minute grabbed Draco’s arm to pull him along too. This got him a rare warm and genuine smile from the ice prince.

Fleur kissed both of Harry’s cheeks and then both of Draco’s all the while blabbering in manic French, Harry had no clue what on earth she was saying but Draco obviously did because he seemed to placate her with a few soft sentences making Harry look at him wide eyed. He had no idea Draco spoke French, never mind understanding it spoke that fast to which he just shrugged and looked slightly smug.

Dumbledore exchanged words with a large merman then turned to the other judges and gathered them in a huddle. 

As the judges deliberated, Harry began to feel really stupid. Krum and Cedric hadn’t taken the song seriously so why had he? He could feel his elation at finishing the task and the pride of kissing Draco in public begin to fade, as his shoulders slumped Draco noticed the change and put his hands on his shoulders to make Harry look at him.

“Stop worrying Harry,” Draco said softly so only he could hear and maybe Hermione he stood close to them, “you tried to save other people’s hostages, that’s why you took longer and if they deduct points for that then they clearly don’t appreciate how selfless that was.” 

Harry can see out of the corner of his eye Hermione’s opening and closing but no sound coming out, he isn’t surprised; he knows that he’s the only one Draco speaks to like this.

And really after giving a speech like that, Draco shouldn’t have been as surprised as he was when Harry pulls him by the waist into another kiss. This kiss is much more like the ones they have shared in dark alcoves in deserted hallways, soft and caring. Neither of them can bring themselves to care that everyone is watching them with slack jaws and wide eyes (minus one journalist who is muttering a million words a minute to an acid green quill).

Harry barely even takes any notice when Dumbledore and the other judges came out of their huddle and everyone seemed to crowd closer, instead he allows Draco turn to face the judges but still keeps his arms around Draco’s waist and holds him close to his chest as if afraid someone will try to pull him away.

“...Delacour, despite her use of the Bubble-Headed Charm was attacked by Grindylows and therefore unable to continue, we award her twenty-five points.” Dumbledore spoke with the use the sonorous charm so everyone could hear.

“I deserve zero.” 

Harry could feel Draco draw breath about to say something so he squeezed him slightly, just enough to make him gasp softly then turn to frown at him but the frown couldn’t seem to stick and it gave way to a soft smile.

“Mr Diggory, who also used the Bubble-Headed Charm, was first to return with his hostage although he arrived one minute outside the allotted time limit of one hour,” a massive cheer went up from the Hufflepuffs in the crowd making many jump, “we award him forty-seven points.” 

Harry’s stomach dropped, if Cedric had been outside the time limit then he must have been dead last; Draco sensed Harry deflating and gripped the hands that sat on his stomach, stroking them in a placatory manner making him feel slightly better.

“Mr Krum used an incomplete form of Transfiguration, which was effective none the less, and was second to return with his hostage, we award forty points.” 

A half hearted cheer went up from the crowd but it was clear that they were now waiting to hear what Harry had been awarded.

“Mr Potter, used Gillyweed to great effect, despite being the last to return he was the first of the champions to reach the hostages, the Mer-chieftainess informs me that if it not for Mr Potter’s determination to rescue not only his own hostage but the other’s too, he would have been the first to return.” 

Both Draco and Hermione turned to look at him with matching expressions of exasperation, he imagined the exact same look was now crossing Ron’s as well.

“Most of the judges,” here Dumbledore paused to look over his spectacles at Karkaroff pointedly before continuing, “feels this shows moral fibre and merits full marks but the judge's decision must be equal between all therefore we award Mr Potter, forty five points.”

Harry can barely believe his ears, that means he’s tied for first place with Cedric. Draco turns and hugs him tightly before beginning to retreat so Harry’s friends can get to him, but Harry keeps a hold of his waist and pulls him close and keeps him there despite being attacked by Hermione. 

As the crowd begins to filter back to shore, he notices Ron and Neville make their way towards them, both looking slightly apprehensive.

“Thanks for the Gillyweed, Neville. You really saved me there.” Harry says using his free hand to clap him on the back when he gets close enough.

“Malfoy mate?” Ron asks as quietly as he can but Harry can still feel Draco tense at his side.

“Yeah, it just kind of happened.” Harry answers honestly because it kind of did, one minute they were at each other’s throats the next they were kissing; Draco had called them a horrible cliche then kissed him again. 

“I’m done questioning your life choices, Harry. If he makes you happy, then I’m not going to get mad at you for that.” Ron shrugs.

Hermione looks like she might cry at hearing Ron be so grown up, Neville looks uncomfortable and Draco has a small smile on his face that would be missed completely by anyone who didn’t know him as well as Harry.

“You three have got to be bloody freezing, let’s get back to the castle yeah?” Ron suggests and it’s as if those words suddenly make them aware of how cold they are and how the charmed blankets have lost their warmth.

There isn’t enough room for them all in one boat so Harry insists the other go first and he and Draco will wait for one to come back, Ron is about to protest but a look from Harry has him grinning and jumping in the boat.

Once they are out of earshot, Draco whirls around to face Harry smirking.

“I’m what you’ll sorely miss, Potter?” 

If it weren’t for the bright glint in his eyes and the teasing tone, Draco could have passed for the spoilt brat he had been in the past.

“Of course you are, you prat. You’re the absolute bane of my existence, my mortal enemy, my one true nemesis, my…” 

Draco cuts him off with a kiss, neither of them notice the boat that has joined them or the fact that Harry’s friends can see them snogging from the shore and are wolf whistling and shouting; nor can either of them bring themselves to care that they kissed in front of the entire school. All they care about in that moment is each other and the thought that crosses both their minds is the same.

I love him...I want to spend the rest of my life kissing him.

**Author's Note:**

> I'm really sorry for any mistakes in this as this was written at like 3am after coming in from a night out (while still rather drunk) when my friend decided to start a dramatic reading Goblet of Fire.
> 
> If you see any mistakes please let me know! 
> 
> Thanks for reading!


End file.
